Joseph Delafield

Joseph Delafield (August 22, 1790 – February 12, 1875) was an American soldier, lawyer and diplomat.

Early life

Delafield was born in New York City on August 22, 1790. a merchant who emigrated to New York from England in 1788 and was a founder and director of the Mutual Insurance Company, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the country. Henry Delafield, William Delafield, Maj. Gen. Richard Delafield, Dr. Edward Delafield, and Rufus King Delafield. His younger sister, Susan Maria Delafield, was married to Henry Parish. Joseph, his father, and four of his brothers were painted by Morton H. Bly, which is today owned by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

His maternal grandparents were Joseph Hallett and Elizabeth (née Hazard) Hallett and his aunt, Mary Hallett, was the second wife of U.S. Representative Benjamin Tallmadge. His paternal grandparents were John Delafield and Martha (née Dell) Delafield, a daughter of John Dell of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. and was the father of Connecticut representative Edward Henry Delafield.

After preliminary education from the Rev. Smith on Pine Street in New York, Delafield prepared for college at a school in Stamford, Connecticut, along with Herman LeRoy, William Wilkes and William Backhouse Astor Sr. Her uncle was Speaker Peter R. Livingston and her paternal grandparents were Robert James Livingston and Susanna (née Smith) Livingston (sister of Chief Justice William Smith and daughter of Judge William Smith). Julia's mother was the only daughter and sole heiress of Gov. Morgan Lewis and Gertrude (née Livingston) Lewis. Together, they were the parents of four children:

Lewis Livingston Delafield (1834–1883), who married Emily Prime (1840–1909), a granddaughter of banker Nathaniel Prime. Maturin Livingston Delafield (1836–1917), who married Mary Coleman Livingston (1847–1922), a daughter of Eugene Augustus Livingston. Joseph Delafield Jr. (1839–1848), who died young.

Descendants Through his son Lewis, he was the grandfather of Lewis Livingston Delafield Jr. (1863–1944), Robert Hare Delafield (1864–1906), and Frederick Prime Delafield (1868–1924).

Through his son Maturin, Joseph Livingston Delafield (1871–1922), John Ross Delafield (1874–1964) (husband of Violetta White Delafield), Julia Livingston (née Delafield) Longfellow (1875–1963), Edward Coleman Delafield (1877–1976), Mary Livingston (née Delafield) Finch (1878–1961), Harriet Coleman (née Delafield) Carter (1880–1953), and Eugene Livingston Delafield (1882–1930).